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Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as still known to many, is Vietnam's largest city with a growing population of around 7 million. This is a city on the go 24 hours a day, where everybody seems to be busy either buying, selling, studying, working or just enjoying themselves.Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as still known to many, is Vietnam's largest city with a growing population of around 7 million. This is a city on the go 24 hours a day, where everybody seems to be busy either buying, selling, studying, working or just enjoying themselves.Despite the fact that modern high-rise buildings have begun to dominate the skyline in recent years there are still many fine examples of French colonial architecture in Ho Chi Minh City such as the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Saigon Post Office and the former Hotel de Ville. A stroll down Dong Khoi Street, the Rue Catinat of Graham Greene's The Quiet American , will reveal more colonial classics like the Continental, Grand and Majestic hotels as well as dozens of tempting boutiques and galleries. Ho Chi Minh City is a real shoppers' paradise with modern shopping
centres and trendy boutiques rubbing shoulders with traditional street markets.
Thecity's best-known market is Ben Thanh Market where you can buy anything from fresh fruit and flowers to the latestimported electronics and cosmetics. One of the most interesting places to visit in Ho Chi Minh City is the former Presidential Palace, now renamed the Reunification Hall. This building remains almost exactly as it was in the morning of 30th April 1975 when the Saigon regime surrendered to the victorious liberation forces and the country was reunified for the first time since 1945. For more war-related history the War Remnants Museum with its thought provoking display of weapons and photographs is also worth visiting. Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City's Chinatown, is the frenetic commercial centre, where every building has a shop or workshop on the ground floor. Cholon also has the city's largest market,
Binh Tay Market, and some fine pagodas including Thien Hau Pagoda, with itshuge incense coils suspended from the ceiling. For wining and dining it is hard to beat Ho Chi Minh City. The city is crammed full of restaurants and bars ranging from simple pavement stalls where you can buy a bowl of noodles for a few cents to sophisticated restaurants serving fine European cuisine at a fraction of the price you would pay in Europe. Ho Chi Minh City's nightlife has become very cosmopolitan in recent years and there are literally hundreds of bars, pubs, nightclubs and discotheques to pick from for a night in the town. Further afield, popular day trips from Ho Chi Minh City include the incredible Cu Chi Tunnels built by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the long years of struggle for independence and the bizarre Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh.

Saigon Highlights

Ben Thanh Market

Location: Ben Thanh Market is situated at the intersection of Le Loi Avenue, Ham Nghi Avenue, Tran Hung Dao AvenueLe Lai Street, 700m south-west of the Rex Hotel.
Characteristics: At first, the market was situated near the Ben Nghe River Dike. After being moved many times, it is now standing in the centre of the city where consumers can conveniently find all sorts of products.

Duc Ba Cathedral

Location: Duc Ba Cathedral is located on Han Thuyen Street, facing down Dong Khoi Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Characteristic: The resplendent Governorâ€™s Palace, completed in 1875, symbolized the regimeâ€™s political power in Asia. And five years later, the Duc Ba (Our Ladyâ€™s) Cathedral was inaugurated, and became the spiritual and cultural crucible of the French presence in the Orient.

Giac Lam Pagoda

Location: Giac Lam Pagoda is located at 118 Lac Long Quan Street, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City.
Characteristic: It is one of the cityâ€™s oldest pagodas with many Buddha statues made of brass and precious timber.Giac Lam Pagoda (also known as the Cam Son or Cam Dien Pagoda) was built in 1744, under the reign of Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat. Unlike many other local religious structures, it has not been renovated since 1900; the architecture, layout, and ornamentation remain almost unaltered. The scenery around the pagoda is picturesque and many people come here to write or recite poetry. Standing in the front garden is a shining white statue of the Goddess of Mercy, perched upon a lotus blossom, a symbol of purity. Inside, on either side of the main altar, are statues of Ameda Buddha and Sakyamuni Buddha, along with more representations of the Goddess of Mercy. Giac Lam Pagoda is open from 6 am to 9 pm.

Others sites includes War remnant museum, Reunification palace which locate right in the center of busy city.